It is common to erect exterior lighting around domestic, industrial, public, and military property to provide security against intruders, and to provide lighting for visitors and authorized personnel. Such a lighting system usually has a metal housing containing high voltage electrical hardware such as a transformer, a starter, etc., and includes a large, thick glass lens, all of which add to its significant collective weight. For greatest area illumination, the lighting system also tends to be very large in size. These factors present the electrician or installer with the awkward tasks of mounting the lighting system to a support structure and of connecting the electrical wiring of the lighting system to the power supply. These tasks may be made all the more awkward because they are typically accomplished at the top of a ladder. The tasks may require one electrician to hold the lighting system while another connects the wires before the system is mounted to the support structure.
One conventional solution to this common problem is to use a swinging-door type mount, which has a hinged side that is initially attached to the supporting structure with the door swung open. The heavy lighting system is then hung on the mount, and this frees the installer's hands. After the electrical wiring of the lighting system is connected, the lighting system including the mount are swung closed against the support structure and screwed in place. An example of such a mounting system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,095,665 and 6,322,234 (Drake, et al.). It will be appreciated that attaching the lighting system to the support structure in this way allows the installation to be carried out in two stages by one person.
However, the Drake mount has numerous disadvantages. First, the mount must be constructed in at least two hinged pieces to create the swinging door effect, which increases cost and complexities during fabrication. Second, once the mount is installed, the possibility exists that a heavier lighting system might accidentally detach and swing open from its suspended position. This exposes the lighting system to malfunction or even tampering by unauthorized persons.
Third, the mount is designed for connection to only one type of wiring configuration found on the support surface, typically an electrical junction box recessed into a wall of a house or building. Unfortunately, it is possible for the electrician to encounter a number of different wiring configurations and receptacles that may not be easily connected to such a mount. For example, where the power supply wires are fed through a rigid conduit extending from the outside or the interior of the wall, or where the power supply wires protrude from the supporting surface without a J-box, connection to such varied situations may be problematic. The Drake mount is thus not easily adaptable in the field.
Hence, there is a need for a lighting system with a mount that is easy to attach to the support structure by a single person, that can be adapted for connection to different wiring configurations, and that cannot easily be detached from the support structure. The present invention addresses these and other needs.